A shelter in Valletta for karozzini horses might have to be demolished after a planning commission refused a request to sanction the structures built without a permit.

Transport Malta submitted the request to sanction the shelters, underground cesspits and drainage pipes in Marsamxett Road, opposite the House of Catalunya.

But the Environment Planning Commission turned down the application last week, saying the “proposed development would have an adverse impact on an important archaeological site or area”.

The lack of shelters for the traditional karozzini (horse-drawn cabs) has long been highlighted by animal rights groups, which, for more than 10 years, have called on the authorities to ensure that the horses are not left under the hot sun.

Year after year, summer after summer, the groups have argued that it was inhumane and unfair on the animals to be left standing under the sweltering sun for hours as their owners waited for a custom.

The Ministry of Resources and Rural Affairs said last year it embarked on a project, worth €300,000, to build shelters in Valletta, Sliema and St Julian’s, among other places.

In May, works for a permanent shelter started on Marsamxett Road and a ministry spokesman had said it would be the first stand, which would be followed up with others in “other sites such as Valletta Waterfront, where works have already commenced”.

The project “will include underground cesspits and bins for the collection of horse urine and droppings and water points, apart from the actual shelters. The project is financed by the Resources Ministry in coordination with Transport Malta,” the spokesman had said.

However, the planning commission said the project went against a structure plan policy, which “provides that such areas or sites should be safeguarded and preserved”.

The authorities can either file an appeal before the Environment and Planning Tribunal or request a reconsideration of the decision.

The first move to protect the animals from the summer sun came in 2005 when the Government had set up provisional shelters in St George’s Square, Valletta. These were criticised for being too few.

These were dismantled in August 2009 when horse-drawn cab drivers were stopped from entering the centre of the capital so the area could be turned into a pedestrian zone as part of the Valletta rehabilitation project.

Cab stands were temporarily relocated in various areas on the outskirts of the capital where there are no shelters yet.